Honouring Grief -Breathworks 8 week course

Honouring Grief- Breathworks course 

8 week Grief virtual programme

With William Fley

There's a reason to be here. 

We have certainly seen the many faces of loss in the last few years: war, climate crisis, economic recession, and pandemic over the last few years. Gradually this can slowly begin to diminish our internal resources to resilience to cope and you might feel people have less time to share and connected as we used too, perhaps you may not even feel heard and witnessed. And perhaps the changing nature of the world is too much for us to deal with and it’s impacting our mental health. Grief is a personal, many times we simply don’t have the enough resources and or compartmentalize as a coping strategy.  But we can find ourselves grieving years later. When grief is a collective and shared path it becomes more manageable. We realised we all need to grieve, and we are not alone.

We all need to grieve and mourner. Grief is what happens on the inside and mourning is how we express our grief on the outside. As we mourn fully, we are able to live and love more fully. Grief is a natural response to loss. It strikes in direct proportion to love: the more we love a person or a thing, the more we experience grief when we lose them.

In our world there are so many situations that cause us pain and sorrow. Life changing losses: the death of a dear one; a relationship ends; a pet dies, a job ends. Then there is everyday grief: a friend lets us down; our children struggle; we feel the loss of our roots and community; we are beset by anxiety and fear about the state of the world. When we turn away from our wounds and sorrows, our range of feeling decreases and our hearts close to the fullness of experience. Even amidst ongoing losses from ecological catastrophe, war, and other forms of suffering, we are creatures of heart. Grieving these losses is both deeply human and also a gateway to greater wholeness, intimacy, and spiritual connection.

Grief that is held down or suppressed, blocks joy or happiness; and – worse – we may feel anger, rage and frustration. Or sometimes we just feel numb. It’s tiring to keep all these feelings in, and grief can be very lonely. Our culture seems to encourage the ‘stiff upper lip’ and ‘moving on’. It’s often harder for men to express their grieve, because of social conditioning. In the last few years of the ‘COVID’ era we began to learn the importance of mourning grief and its importance for sound mental health. There is no timeline or solution to ‘getting over’ or ‘moving on’ from grief. And also, we can experience our resilience. We grow around our painful wounds, and we can then begin to come to a place of peace and remember with more love than pain.

This eight week programme of honouring our grief is to support us in navigating the grief process through group work, building community, mindfulness practice, information on the stages of grief and how we can mourn our grief. Also offering resources. Most importantly an understanding that you are not alone!

• Get an in-depth understanding of the stages of grief
• Powerful  and practical interventions to offer hope and a felt sense of community.
• Weekly live zoom labs to understand the unpredictable path of grief, ask  questions, and support each other.
• Confidential safe place within a small group session.

1. Connect with a community of people in a shared path.

Connecting with others who have walked a similar path can provide much-needed support and people who know firsthand what you're going through. Together, you'll offer each other empathy, validation, and encouragement on this journey toward healing. Even though your stories are different and special, we know what it is like to feel the pain and the complexity of being fully present with the various stages of grief.

2. Learn valuable and strategic healing methods and somatic/mindfulness excises in weekly groups to build clarity and resilience.

Each week we will engage in a supportive movement, somatic exercise and mindfulness practices to support us.

These tools will not only help you navigate your grief but also enable a sense of integration and self-regulation.

but also enable you to find meaning and purpose in your life moving forward.

3. Benefit from a structured with a small group.

A fixed structure program at the same time and place and with people who share a similar journey with personalised attention.

Explore your emotions in a way that feels authentic and natural for you in a safe environment.

4. Experience the power of creative expression

Sharing your story can be an incredibly therapeutic way to process your grief ,  you'll have the opportunity to share your memories and experiences in a supportive, non-judgmental environment. Additionally, the program incorporates creative activities such writing, photo sharing, and music, to help you express your emotions and find new ways to honor the memory of your loved one.

This comprehensive system teaches you that grief isn't something you simply "fix"; instead, it's a process that you learn to navigate with time, patience, and self-compassion. develop the skills and mindset needed to effectively cope with the inevitable ups and downs of grief, allowing you to find healing, growth, and ultimately, a renewed sense of purpose and meaning in your life.

William Fley is a bereavement counsellor with the emergency services. He has practised in various Buddhist traditions for over 20 years.  William is the founder and director of the "Mindfulness Network for people of colour" a community interest company based in the UK, which aims to bring awareness of transgenerational trauma through mindfulness-based interventions.  Qualified as a 'Breathworks' mindfulness teacher, he completed a 2-year certification program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. has Studied with Danial Foor founder of Ancestral medicine and David Kessler an internationally known bereavement specialist.